There are real world situations where responsibility requirements put individuals at risk. The following examples such as military force protection, road checks, or pulling over vehicles with drivers can demonstrate the advantages of autonomous vehicle platforms over human interaction. Consider a situation where a security guard or law enforcement officer (LEO) conducting force protection within an area of responsibility. A LEO approaches a stopped vehicle at the road check; the driver turns out to be a wanted felon using someone else's vehicle (e.g., a loaned vehicle from associate) and has a weapon. This situation could rapidly turn tragic for a lone LEO; however, the danger can be significantly reduced or completely mitigated using an autonomous vehicle.
Traditional methods rely on sending human law enforcement operators to do the assessment of the environment. More recent explorations of using remote controlled vehicles have been explored for traffic monitoring, site surveillance, and search as rescue. These methods operate in a benign environment devoid of hostile behaviors of individuals. The present invention combines sensor and communications technologies on an autonomous vehicle platform controlled by a user in a novel way for suspicious object interaction and integrates them in a unique system including but not limited to law enforcement activities to reduce risk.